Mail order prescription plan from Walgreens: 90-day supply for one monthly copay

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Access to the national and international Blue Cross network

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Coverage for eye injuries and services related to medical conditions such as glaucoma, eye disease like macular degeneration, conjunctivitis, etc.

Jennus Burton, vice president for Finance and Administration, and representatives from Human Resources staff will meet with the Faculty Senate, the Service Professionals Advisory Council, Academic Professionals and the Classified Staff Advisory Council the week of Sept. 12 to discuss upcoming changes to employee health benefits.

Several open sessions will be held in September and October to explain changes and offer employees tips to maximizing their benefits. Details on the open session locations and times will be announced in Inside NAU.

As Northern Arizona University enters into the current fiscal year with a nearly $30 million cut from the state, changes to employee benefits will be implemented to allow the university to meet budget constraints.

Salary and employee-related expenses account for 80 percent of the university’s state budget, and the Arizona Board of Regents recently mandated that each of the three universities make permanent cuts to state-funded employee-related expenditures.

According to a letter from Jennus Burton, vice president for Finance and Administration, a university benefits committee composed of classified and professional staff and faculty members, spent the last several months identifying ways to make up $2 million in savings through modifications to employee benefits.

The committee considered multiple savings scenarios involving the tuition reduction program and health benefits, with the overall goal to keep the university’s Blue Cross Blue Shield plan competitive with the state’s health care plan. Based on those considerations, the committee determined specific changes to health care plans that would yield the necessary savings needed for the university to meet its budget.

Based on the committee’s recommendation, the university will adopt the following changes to medical benefits beginning Jan. 1:

Increase in monthly health care premiums for the three tiers of Blue Cross Blue Shield coverage as follows:

Nominate an NAU Leader in sustainability by March 23
Nominate an NAU Leader in Sustainability by March 23! Each year, the Northern Arizona University Environmental Caucus awards outstanding efforts of students, faculty, staff and community members for their work on green initiatives.